Ghost of Love
by Nona Decima Morta
Summary: After rescuing Bella from a convicted stalker, Edward Cullen made a vow to protect and love her with his heart and even his life. After they married, Edward could never have imagined dangerous forecast; Bella was taken away from him by Them. Once in Their hands, no vampire had ever returned. Will Edward gamble his life for Bella's, or will she forever be his Ghost of Love? ExB.


Chapter I

**Edward Cullen**

It had taken me three goddamn years to earn Bella's trust, convince her that I'm no evil Count Dracula, thirsty for her blood and I will never kill her.

After years of persuasion, she finally allowed me to change her life.

Physically and mentally.

A single bite at her neck, changed her from the pretty, shy, brown-eyed human girl, into a beautiful, more confident, golden-eyed vampire, with the most melodic voice I had ever heard, and the most intriguing powers I had ever saw or felt. A few short lessons made Bella a pro in hunting for animal blood and protecting herself from unwanted men or should I say, _canine animals_ (like a certain werewolf friend of hers) and lecherous vampires.

No one can replace my eternal love for Bella. Not my sisters Rosalie and Alice (both whom I have a fond sisterly affection for), not my tireless mother Esme (who never stopped loving the three of us since the day she was transformed), and definitely not that bitch Tanya Denali!

Bella was the light in my moments of darkness.

The Rose that soothed me in my bouts of being a monster.

The moon in my night sky.

The shiniest and most glorious gem in my tiny collection of jewels, and her plain, make up-less skin and face, attracted me towards her like a magnet. Some would say I love her like a spider to its prey, but I would never compare my adoration for Bella, to a filthy spider and its dinner! Even the attraction of a butterfly to a flower, won't do.

Bella's my Queen, no, my _goddess_.

I worship her like the Aztecs to the sun. Life had no meaning without her. The day we are separated, will be the end of the world.

What am I saying? It already had!

My eyes were red, there were dark shadows under them, I stunk like a dog (or had the same disgusting scent that the fucking werewolf Jacob Black has every day), my clothes were almost in tatters, I looked like a shitty caveman, and my breath could kill a man within the range of three metres. If that wasn't bad enough, my once perfect and much-envied house, had turned into a dump where beggars live, and where unwanted broken furniture get tossed without a second glance. The beautiful grand piano, I had once cherished, was now full of dust, and the keys terribly out of tune. The large mirror with edges gilded in gold (which Bella and I spent hours polishing), had been the one my anger turned to. The smooth, polished glass had been smashed to pieces (the fragments still on the ground, untouched), and the elaborate gold patterns had peeled away, and left an unattractive brown-tan-ish colour behind. I had never looked at that mirror since that day…

The mirror and the piano were only some ruined items of my dilapidating house. The mahogany cupboards were crawling with cockroaches, beetles, spiders and other small insects, and the corners of my house were full of webs.

My house was taken over by armies of insects.

I had never spring-cleaned the house for two years.

I never even touched the broom.

None of my family members had visited me in my house. They never knew what had happened to me, and the sudden atmospheric change, whenever I entered the room. Even the floorboards were creakier than usual, whenever I walked on them. The furniture sensed my anger, and tried to obey my every command, and avoid my wrath, but the poor, ancient armchair would be blamed for everything. The arms had been ripped at least twenty times!

Never once, did I cook in the kitchen, or eat in there. I had never ate buttered toast with blood milk since the world had came crashing down on me. The crumbs of the toast were still on the ground, or had been abducted by ants.

It had always been McDonald's, or KFC for dinner.

If I was human, the meals would've been awfully bland, and I would've been fat and gained heaps of weight, but every human food is tasteless to me, with the exception of a few. Chinese food for one; it had an interesting flavour I couldn't describe. From pork buns to shark fin soup, they all had the same unusual taste, which I rather liked.

Another, was the delicious mushroom ravioli.

No! Why am I thinking of mushroom ravioli?! It's not right! I should be thinking of a plan or something that can help! Not think of her favourite food!

"Edward? You here?"

I panicked.

What is Alice doing here?!

She would freak if she saw what the interior of my house looked like! That's not the worst part; I would be packed off to live with her, Esme and Carlisle (and maybe Rosalie) for who knows how long! My freedom would be over! I would be a prisoner in the Cullen home! They would never allow me to come back and live here (until it was properly cleaned up) by myself! The thought of living here with Alice was a nightmare! Rosalie was the sister I can always count on to annoy me, but she would never live here willingly with me. Even if she was forced to, she would always get out of it. This must be Esme's doing! To send Alice to check on me!

"Edward!" Alice called again. "I know you're in there! I can feel your presence! Is Bella in there? I haven't seen her in a while! Hello! Edward! Get yourself out of there! Are you ignoring me on purpose? I'm not alone! I have a man with me, and he can knock open the door and carry you out! Is that how you want it? I'll give you two minutes!"

A man? Probably her boyfriend, Jasper Whitlock (a vampire of course).

With a heavy sigh, I stood up.

Refusing to look in the mirror, I opened the door.

Sunlight streamed into the house for the first time in years, and I squinted at two vampires at the door, not used to the sunlight. Jasper had wisely held a large (but frilly?) umbrella over himself and Alice, to avoid excess sunlight.

"You look terrible," said Alice flatly. "If you seriously ran out of cash, you could've called us! Or if you didn't want to, you could've sold the car! Look at the clothes you're wearing! Have you even looked at yourself in the mirror?! If you think Rosalie will be shocked at this, you're wrong! _I'm _shocked at it! When's the last time you hunted for animal blood? You're killing yourself! Vampires don't die, but they can get seriously ill! Don't you know that?! And what's that smell?"

She sniffed the air, and wrinkled her nose.

Jasper's nose twitched.

"Is Jacob in there?!" Alice demanded. "Are you having some werewolf party?!"

"I think it's your brother," said Jasper, amused.

Alice came up close to me and sniffed my shirt. Immediately, she jumped back and made a retching sound near a bush. Jasper laughed, as Alice made vomiting gestures. I glared at them. If they were here just to laugh at me, it was extremely rude.

"You need a bath," said Alice, pushing past me. "Arrgh! What happened in here?! Edward! Are you seriously this lazy?! What's gone into you?! You were always clean whenever we saw you! You can't go on living like this! You'll make yourself sick! You're coming back with us! Esme and Carlisle will freak out if they see the condition you're living in! Edward! I want a good explanation on the way back, or you'll be telling everything to our parents! They won't understand as much as me, so I suggest you do what I say, or there will be serious trouble for you!"

"Fine," I grumbled.

Alice nearly wins all our arguments.

Alice pushed me into the house and marched me into my long unused bedroom. There were stains on the bed sheets from the bottle of blood wine I had thrown against the headboard a while ago. Alice pulled out my suitcase (and wiped the dust on my shoulder) and opened my wardrobe. A second later, she shut it and glared at me.

"Your clothes are disgusting," she told me. "There's no way you're taking any of them home. I guess you'll have to wear what you have now. Once we get home and you have a shower, Rosalie and I will be taking you for a long shopping spree, and you'll get new clothes. Let's hope you didn't grow too much in four years. Esme saved your old clothes before you moved out, and I think you'll need to wear one of your old shirts and jeans. Don't look disgusted. It's cleaner than the clothes you have now. Esme still iron and fold them when she has nothing better to do. I guess your shoes will have to do. It's not as bad, but you need a good shave."

The three of us went outside and into Alice's Porsche Nine Eleven Turbo. Alice threw the keys to Jasper and sat in the back with me.

"He knows the way?" I asked.

"I have a name you know," said Jasper, looking at me through the review mirror. "And yes, I do know my way to Alice's house. I drove there a numerous amount of times. You would've known, if you visited us more often, instead of sitting here like a zombie in a dump you call a house. Even Rosalie and Emmett see us more often than you."

I was tempted to chuck a large rock at him.

"Just drive," Alice ordered.

"As you say," said Jasper with a small chuckle.

What in God's name does Alice find interesting in this moron?!

"Tell me everything," said Alice seriously.

"We had a fight," I lied. "It was over that fucking werewolf. She asked if he could come and see us from time to time. I accused her of infidelity and that she still loves him. Bella said that she and Jacob were just friends, but I wouldn't listen. I probably drank too much blood wine that night. We started throwing objects at each other, and then I…I hit her. It probably hurt her like Hell. I ordered her to leave and have a great life with that son of a bitch. She ran out, and never came back. I thought Bella would come back in a couple of days, but she never did. I was angry, but when I cooled down and came to my senses, I didn't know what to do. I tried to ring and text her, but she never replied. I even sent emails. I just didn't want to bother you. I thought I was able to deal with losing Bella, but I guess I never did. It was my fault she left and our marriage fell apart."

I forced a couple of tears in my eyes.

"I'm sorry," said Alice, patting my shoulder. "I didn't know. Bella will come back. You should've told me earlier, and I could've located her for you! Now that she's with Jacob, it'll be harder for me to find her. I'll try, if you want me too."

"It's alright," I said, staring out the window. "She will come back. The werewolves might've liked her when she's a human, but now that she's a vampire, they won't be able to tolerate her for long. I should've taken more care of our house. Bella will be shocked once she comes back and our house is in such a dilapidated and unhealthy state. I can't believe this would happen to us. Never in my wildest dreams, did I think our relationship would fall apart."

Jasper pulled up on the driveway.

"It'll be alright," Alice promised. "Everything will be sorted."

* * *

"What in the world is that unholy stench?"

That was the first sentence I heard when I entered my childhood home. Such a lovely and warm greeting from Rosalie.

"Alice," said Rosalie, from the top of the stairs. "What's the Cub doing here? Is he thirsty? I'm afraid the only bowl available is the dog bowl I bought from the shops two years ago. Unfortunately, it's quite dusty and dirty. If you want, I'll wash it once with the garden hose and put some tap water in it for you. Or maybe I should put in some dog biscuits?"

Great.

Now she thought I was Jacob!

"No need for a dog bowl," Alice called back. "It's just Edward. Yeah, he smells like a wet dog. The quicker he has a shower, the better. Is Carlisle up there with you, or is he at work? Maybe it'll be a good idea for him to have a look at Eddie!"

"Edward?" said Rosalie, descending the stairs like a Princess. "Where is he? I only see you, Jasper, and a dirty urchin you brought from the streets. Oh! Red eyes! Must be a new born. Do you think he's lost or spying for the Volturi? You can never trust newborns these days. Always double crossing you. Read it in _Vampire Weekly_, and you'll understand what I mean. Oh, I forgot. You don't read magazines. Urchin, do you have a name?"

She seriously didn't recognise me?!

"This is Edward!" said Alice, in exasperation. "Do you seriously not recognise him?! I admit he didn't visit us in at least two years, but he didn't change that much! His eyes are red because he was lazy and didn't bother hunting! Is there spare blood here?"

Rosalie studied me, wrinkling her nose.

"I'll have a look," she said, a few minutes later. "You get him showered up."

"Edward?"

Esme had recognised me without much trouble.

"Edward! It is you!" she said, rushing towards me. "Oh. What happened to you?! You were always so clean and tidy when you were younger! Did you get into a fight? You didn't have a bath, did you? You didn't hunt for blood either. Where's Bella? Why're you here? Did something happen? Alice, what's going on? Why's his clothes so tattered? Edward! You know us vampires don't sleep most of the time, but sleep is good for us from time to time! Have you been working overtime? Is Bella pregnant? Why haven't you visited us in years?!"

"I'll tell you later," said Alice quietly. "Maybe we should get Edward washed up and fed first? Then it'll be easier for us to talk. He should get some sleep too. What do you think? I'm no doctor, but I can see a tired and depressed vampire as easily as spotting a future Cullen member in my visions. We should get him a warm and stiff drink."

Esme nodded slowly, looking at me worriedly.

Alice pushed me into a bathroom.

"Strip and shower," she instructed and slammed the door shut.

For the first time, I slowly looked at myself in the mirror.

I couldn't recognise myself. I knew I had red eyes (due to my thirst and hunger), but I had no idea how red it would be! I used to have the shiniest golden eyes, but now! They were as red as Count Dracula's cruel eyes! My bronze hair was usually tousled, but it's now a bird's nest! It was so tangled and looked like I just woke up from a deep sleep! There were no signs that I looked like a harmless, vegetarian vampire; I had the signs of a hungry, evil one.

That wasn't the worst part; I now have a beard. Vampires usually don't shave or grow more hair, but over time, if we don't keep ourselves clean and in good health, human affects do happen. The beard was just a warning. It could get worse.

I could develop pimples.

I shook my head and turned on the tap.

The thought of having pimples is terrible, but having it in reality?! It'll be worse than a nightmare. A vampire with acne all over his face?! Who had ever seen that?! I'll be the laughing stock in the whole of the nomadic and coven vampire world! The Volturi might take me into their Court as the Court Jester or the Entertainer because of them.

Having a shower in a while was relaxing. It felt great, and I felt a burden lifted. The thought of lying to Alice still nagged me. I shouldn't lie to her…she can help and be a wonderful sister, but still…I didn't want the whole family dead just because of me. Coven wars are rare, and they usually end with a whole coven eliminated, and the triumphant coven a whole thousand dollars richer. The Volturi thought of those wars as entertainment as usual.

My knuckles clenched at the thought of Volturi.

To put it short, they're spoilt young vampires who get everything they want.

Everything and _everyone_.

Actually, the Volturi clan are the oldest vampires in the world (save the handful of Romanians), and since the fifteenth century, all of us vampires, have acknowledged them (willingly or forced) as royalty, our overlords and the law enforcers.

We hardly see them, but Carlisle knew them quite well, once upon a time. There were three main leaders; crazy King Aro I (who liked to watch his Volturi Nobles perform experiments on potential members or victims), cruel King Caius I (who hated every disobedient vampire and wanted them dead) and compassionate King Marcus I (who was more merciful than his fellow leaders), but none of them were particularly dangerous, or fearsome. The ones to worry about, were the Volturi Nobles. There were twenty nine (or around that number) of them.

The Dukes were the most powerful. The knights, not so much.

The Volturi have a sort of uniform level, and the nobles with the darkest (and finest) cloaks and attire, are the most ruthless, powerful of all the Volturi. If you try to bribe them, it's like offering yourself as a sacrifice for a sun god.

They would literally rip off your head (or torture you slowly to death) and give it as a prize to the Kings, unless you're wanted by the Kings. Being wanted is worse than death. Pretty creepy too. The knights aren't that bad, but I had never heard of them being bribed before. Either they're loyal to the skin as well, or no one had tried to bribe them yet.

Just as I was drying myself, Alice came in.

She held a bottle of some blood concoction in her hand.

"Here," she said, offering it out to me.

"What is it?" I said suspiciously.

"It's ice tea," said Alice, opening it. "Blood flavoured of course. Carlisle had it imported from some vampires in Britain. Or was it Portugal? I never remember. Don't worry! It's been Volturi approved! See, you can even see the stamp of approval! It'll do you some good. It's cold as well. It's vampire-made, and fresh animal blood would've been more advisable, but you know the Cullen rule; no hunting unless the whole family is at the Cullen House, and knows about it. You are a married vampire, but still a member of the family, and that's the only rule that needs to be followed at all times. Here, Esme found these clothes for you. I'm sure you can still fit it."

She tossed a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt at me. The smell of animal blood (even though it was mixed with tea) was so delectable!

I changed and drank the ice blood tea thirstily.

A few minutes later, I fell to the ground, my head spinning.

My eyes grew heavy.

_Alice had lied to me…_

* * *

**What do you think of the first chapter? :) Please review! :)**


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